Personal care products are absorbent articles including diapers, training pants, incontinence devices and the like. These products are designed to absorb and contain body exudates and are generally single-use or disposable items which are discarded after a relatively short period of use--usually a period of hours--and are not intended to be washed and reused. Such products are placed against or in proximity to the wearer's body to absorb and contain various exudates discharged from the body. All of these products typically include a liquid permeable bodyside liner or cover, a liquid impermeable outer cover or backsheet, and an absorbent structure disposed between the bodyside liner and outer cover. The liquid impermeable outer cover may be breathable, i.e., permeable to water vapor, but typically is not.
It has been found that urination can occur at rates as high as 15 to 20 milliliters per second and at velocities as high as 280 centimeters per second. The volume of urine released per occurrence can vary from about a nominal amount to about 100 ml. It's important for the absorbent article to rapidly uptake liquid to avoid excessive pooling of liquid on the body-facing surface of the bodyside liner in order to avoid leakage. Even if absorbed, however, any liquid in the article contributes to the overall relative humidity near the wearer' skin, causing discomfort and potential skin health problems due to excessive skin hydration.
The problem of high relative humidity near the skin in an absorbent article has been addressed in the art through a number of means. U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,525 for example, uses mechanical means to increase airflow in the article. Breathable outer covers allow air and water vapor diffusion into and out of the absorbent article's enclosure and have been mentioned previously.
Despite these attempts, the need exists for further improvement in the reduction of skin hydration within absorbent articles. In particular, there is a need for drying agents that can remove water vapor from the air within an article near the skin. The present invention provides for such reduced relative humidity and skin hydration within an absorbent article's enclosure.